Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app

Microsoft has expanded the capabilities of its Copilot tool in Outlook, finally allowing users to create unique AI-powered themes and customize the look and feel of their Outlook experience.

The new tool, Themes by Copilot, was teased earlier this year, and it features a range of standard color themes and more than 100 AI-generated themes. The themes are available in animated and static formats, and users can also set how often they change.

For example, users can create a theme inspired by one of Outlook’s 100+ locations or use a theme that changes based on the local weather. Themes are also designed to be beautiful and accessible to all.

In the official announcement, these AI-generated themes will be available to all Microsoft 365 Copilot users starting November 7 and are accessible on Outlook for iOS and Android, Windows, the web, and Mac.

Microsoft said that it has released themes for all users of its Outlook app over the past year, but it’s clear that the company is positioning Themes by Copilot as a more premium feature. Themes by Copilot is the first instance of AI-generated theming in productivity applications and can give Outlook a more personal touch.

As a result, it’s reasonable to think that Themes by Copilot could provide a new revenue stream for Microsoft in the form of extra subscription fees or as part of a more expensive Microsoft 365 tier.

Microsoft also announced a new feature called Prioritize My Inbox by Copilot today, which will be available in private preview for Microsoft 365 Copilot users later this year and for all users in early 2025.

Prioritize My Inbox—which sounds somewhat similar to Google’s Priority Inbox—uses AI to prioritize the most important messages for each user.

What’s your take on this? Will you use these AI-generated themes in Outlook?